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Vladimir Snegotskiy (RU)

Vladimir Snegotskiy (RU)

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems it is the first time we are receiving a russian artist on the site and it is both a great pleasure and honor that Vladimir answered our questions as russian art has always been an inspiration for a lot of artits around the world in history. There was no reason why there should not have rock poster artists in Russia also, especially as Russia is definitly a rock country ! And, for a reason I cannot explain, I find that russian typography is making Vladimir stunning work even more rock n'roll. Добро пожаловать Vladimir :)

Hello, of course as every Crew interview, first question: what
are we

listening to when we come to visit you?

It seems to be black-metal, may be
with post-metal influence.

Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you
from,

what do you do?

I am Vladimir (Waldez) Snegotskiy. I was
born in Moscow, Russia.

Keep living here till today. I am
being paid for design orders (including posters for metal gigs). Posters for my
rock-mates I make for free. We don’t have culture of underground art especially
in terms of hardcore music here in Russia. Me and my friend have established a
small venture some time ago called “Octopus management” providing service for metal
bands. Our venture covers design, posters and all kinds of merch. We try to develop
a feeling of art in people together with
rising interest to good music and unusual design.

When did you start drawing?

Drawing was my favorite hobby when I
was kid. In my teen years I gave it up returning to it after twenty. And then I
have started to use computer. Now I am returning to hand-drawing again closing
the circle.

Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the
margins

of your schoolbooks?

I have not taken any courses learning
be myself. I have spent a lot of time over
works of Simon Fowler, Aaron Horkey or David D’Andrea and many others. Their
work gave me inspiration and skill. I can call them teachers.

Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else
for a living?

I make orders of motion and graphics
design for living. Art is for myself. My best works are usually for free. It
can be either for friends, or for self-promotion. When I work for myself I can
do everything without boundaries. Sometimes the results are rather crazy.

Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?

Occasionally I have orders from
zines. I enjoy illustration orders for zines. My recent work was for Russian Billboard.
The order was on ‘death and music’ theme which is my favourite.

Where does your influence come from?

Greater deal of my inspiration comes
from music. I am listening to something
all the time. Almost every minute of my life is filled with music. Sometimes I
even sleep with some ambient tracks in my ears. Outside I use my headphones
listening to the music in the streets. I turn on my vinyl player when I am at
home. Music and art is one passion for me.

Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are
your influences?

My favourite artist is John Dyer
Baizley. He is an artist and musician at same time playing in a metal band (just
like me... :) Generally speaking I like to surf the web for eye-catching images
(in terms of shapes, colours, ideas etc.) that may influence my future
work.

What are the principal steps in your work?

There is no special scheme. Sometimes
I do hand sketches first. Then I do all the rest in Photoshop or Illustrator.
Sometimes I use computer only finding necessary images in Google arranging
collages in Photoshop. Sometimes I do the sketch, then scan it and add some
texts or colors by computer (depending on ideas of artworks).

How long does it take you to do a poster?

Couple of days as a rule. I make
posters in my free time, therefore time consumption is different.

You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you
feel

like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with
horses

running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or
are

you up for it ?

I think I could paint ‘horses and
sunset’ thing in my style. And yes, I am always open for something new including
new techniques. I dream I could paint my stuff on canvas using oil or acrylic.
But I am still quite far from it.

For which band have you already worked for?

Usually it is my friend’s bands or the
bands that work with Octopus Management. All of them are from Moscow, and play
in different styles varying from math-core to drone metal. And the bands I play
in, of course!

For which band would you love to work?

It would be interesting for me to
make something for each band in case the music impressed me. I am always open
for co-operation with all of my favorite bands and the new ones as well.

What is the most difficult part in designing a poster?

Most difficult part is to find time
for a poster. When I run across an idea, all the rest is a matter
of technique. I like to experiment with different styles and methods. Sometimes
we do posters in collaboration with my wife Elena. She has great graphic skills
and helps me a lot.

Do you think you are a part of "Graphic Scene", if so
who else?

Personally I do not associate myself with
International Graphic Scene yet. I might be the one in Moscow, but I am not
sure. I would like to make more posters for international bands too. For sure I
would like to collaborate with other illustrators and designers. We could work
on big gig poster book or could make a big exhibition :)

A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where
can we